Everyones a player (in a mid-90s MUD) Kenzie Woodbridge - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Everyone’s a player (in a mid-90s MUD) Kenzie Woodbridge @rainbowkenz

Let me tell you what I’ll tell you 1. Context 2. These are the people in your docs neighbourhood 3. MUDs and player type theory 4. Implications for documentation 5. Solutions and strategies Me thinking I’m just sooooo funny - throughout. @rainbowkenz

1. Context @rainbowkenz

Me: BCIT ➔ 5 campuses ➔ ~2700 faculty and staff ➔ ~50,000 students (FT+PT) ➔ >500 credential programs @rainbowkenz

@rainbowkenz

2. These are the people in your docs neighbourhood @rainbowkenz

“Sprout” ➔ Support desk ➔ User focused ➔ Broad technical experience and knowledge @rainbowkenz

“Turnip” ➔ Specialist developer/ Server administrator/DBA ➔ Knowledge focused ➔ Deep technical experience and knowledge @rainbowkenz

“Kale” ➔ Developer/project manager ➔ Achievement focused ➔ Sufficient technical experience and knowledge to accomplish the thing @rainbowkenz

“Broccoli” ➔ More of a lifestyle than a technical role ➔ Hierarchy/power focused ➔ Unknowable technical experience and knowledge @rainbowkenz

3. MUDs and Player Type Theory @rainbowkenz

MUD: Multi-User Dungeon Place your screenshot here Richard Bartle & Roy Trubshaw @rainbowkenz

Interact “Socializer” “Explorer” Players World “Killer” “Achiever” Act @rainbowkenz

Caveat Time! The full compexity of the human experience cannot possibly be summed up with a simplistic “There are four types of people” declaration (or a “There are four lights” declaration for that matter) and I want to assure you that I am not attempting to do so. You are a complicated and wonderful human being with many many facets and so am I and all of us together a re only a small part of the amazing complexity available on this beautiful planet we live on, which itself is only a tiny part of the amazing complexity and beauty and depth and interestingness of the universe and all of this is available for deep and interesting conversation, as am I after this talk, so don’t worry. Together we can combat the slow trundle towards oversimplification, but this is just a 60-minute tech writing talk so I had to follow the KISS principle, though I don’t like that because “stupid” is an ableist slur which I prefer not to use. Also, climate change is real and caused by human activity!

4. Implications for documentation @rainbowkenz

Interact “Explorer” “Socializer” Players World “Killer” “Achiever” Act @rainbowkenz

Interact Players Users Technology World Act @rainbowkenz

“Sprout” Socializer ➔ User focused ➔ Broad technical experience and knowledge ➔ Natural documentor (may need support to start) @rainbowkenz

“Turnip” Explorer ➔ Knowledge focused ➔ Deep technical experience and knowledge ➔ Natural anti-documentor @rainbowkenz

“Kale” Achiever ➔ Achievement focused ➔ Sufficient technical experience and knowledge to accomplish the thing ➔ Inconsistent documentor @rainbowkenz

“Broccoli” Killer ➔ Hierarchy/power focused ➔ Unknowable technical experience and knowledge ➔ Inconsistent documentor ➔ Element of destructive chaos @rainbowkenz

5. Solutions and strategies @rainbowkenz

How can I help? How could you Interact not know? Users Technology On time, on I ruin everything. budget! Act @rainbowkenz

Socializers Just need your support. @rainbowkenz

Socializer documentation support Personal Support Strategies External Support Strategies Expect to: Expect to: ✘ Provide templates ✘ Advocate for them to others ✘ Assist with publishing ✘ Work to include them where ✘ Impose a structure and they are excluded ✘ Give public kudos organization @rainbowkenz

Explorers Let’s make this quick. @rainbowkenz

Explorer documentation extraction Reframing Strategies Support Strategies Documentation: Expect to: ✘ Shows off expertise ✘ Reduce barriers (provide ✘ Keeps icky users away templates) ✘ Is another thing to have ✘ Rewrite docs for audience ✘ Help enforce expectation to knowledge of look at docs first @rainbowkenz

Achievers Turn it into a game. @rainbowkenz

Achiever documentation gamification Gamifying Strategies Support Strategies To motivate achievers: Expect to: ✘ Post doc writing/review stats ✘ Be available on short notice ✘ Make doc authors visible ✘ Provide and enforce templates ✘ Advocate for docs as critical ✘ Publically thank them success criteria in projects @rainbowkenz

Killers It’s dangerous to go alone! @rainbowkenz

Killer documentation… something Self-protection Strategies Go Forward Strategies Protect yourself: You should: ✘ Keep discussions public ✘ Treat agreements like ✘ Document everything agreements ✘ Follow up (ironically) ✘ Engage Explorers in the ✘ Expect but not tolerate delays ✘ Expect but not engage in power struggle plays @rainbowkenz

Thanks! You’re awesome! Let’s chat? You can find me at @rainbowkenz kwoodbridge@gmail.com @rainbowkenz

Credits Special thanks to all the folks in the world helping others (sometimes for free): ✘ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival ✘ Pictures of Hats from www.villagehatshop.com ✘ Player type theory proposed by Richard Bartle ✘ Workplace bullying advice by Captain Awkward @rainbowkenz